This high-performance, $11.3 million machine is the only one of its kind. It allows speeds up to 200 mph on car, truck and motorsports vehicles and tests tire performance during acceleration, brake and burnout events, as well as wheel torque capability.

Located in the Virginia Motorsports Technology Park adjacent to the Virginia International Raceway track in Halifax County, the NTRC provides easy access to real-world testing right on a premier race track.

NTRC is an applied research and testing facility established in 2010 through a public-private partnership between the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, General Motors, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.

By combining the industry leadership of General Motors with the research prowess of Virginia Tech, NTRC will focus on developing safer tires that are environmentally friendly, providing higher fuel economy with lower emissions.

Southern Virginia has become quite a hub for the automotive industry. NTRC has partnered with nearby Southern Virginia Vehicle Motion Lab (SoVa Motion), a facility also operated by Virginia Tech that rounds out the region’s offering to automotive manufacturers by providing shock and suspension testing, on-vehicle sensing, and full-motion driving simulation.

Virginia's advanced manufacturing capabilities cover all aspects of the automotive industry. To learn why automotive companies have invested more than $1 billion in the Commonwealth over the last decade, click here.

Dr. Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, addresses the crowd at the National Tire Research Center ribbon-cutting event in Halifax County.

The Center for Coatings Application, Research, and Education (C-CARE) was unveiled this Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in South Boston, Va.

C-CARE’s mission is to help commercialize solutions in the field of surface engineering and attract advanced manufacturing companies to the region by providing workforce training, R&D, and improved links between educational institutions and industry partners.

The 12,000-square-foot, climate-controlled facility includes a lab equipped with advanced robotics, reciprocating spray equipment, and virtual reality training systems. C-CARE’s lab will be used to test new coatings technologies and design solutions that increase product quality and efficiency for applications in the aerospace, automotive, construction, food, manufacturing and wood industries.

This two-year project is the result of collaboration between Halifax Industrial Development Authority, the Riverstone Energy Center, and the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center.

The American Wood Finishing Institute (AWFI) will operate and staff the facility. As a leading provider of coatings technology training and consulting, AWFI will offer C-CARE access to subject matter experts with real-world experience applying coatings to metal, wood, plastics and other composite materials.

C-Care augments Virginia’s existing strength in the advanced manufacturing sector, as leaders such as the Altria Group, DuPont, Honeywell, MeadWestvaco and Rubbermaid have all established operations in the Commonwealth.

To learn why Virginia is home to more than 6,000 manufacturing establishments, click here.

Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Development Mary Rae Carter (center) joins members of C-CARE, industry partners, and state and local officials at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in South Boston, Va.

University-Based Economic Development (UBED) has been a top priority for Virginia, and yesterday VEDP executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Virginia’s public institutions of higher education and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).

Through increased partnership in marketing and outreach, the goals of the MOU are to unify Virginia’s message in the global marketplace and provide a higher number of corporate contacts for VEDP and increased opportunities for Virginia’s institutions of higher education to interact with corporate entities.

The MOU creates a formal framework around an already existing relationship between VEDP and Virginia’s colleges and universities. Virginia’s UBED team has been in existence for seven years and has fostered collaboration on numerous workforce development and research projects.

According to VEDP President and CEO Martin Briley, “This MOU provides a meaningful blueprint to more fully leverage higher education as a differentiator in our economic development outreach marketing, and it reinforces the message to our corporate partners that our public colleges and universities are dedicated to leveraging research and workforce assets to benefit the business community.”

Access to a solid pipeline of skilled and educated employees can be a deciding factor when companies seek to relocate or expand operations. Virginia has one of the most well-educated workforces in the country—more than 34 percent have at least a bachelor’s degree and more than 500,000 students are enrolled annually at Virginia’s top-ranked higher education institutions.

To learn more about the Commonwealth’s premier education system and why its workforce is consistently commended by companies, click here.

(From left to right) Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng; Peter Blake, Executive Director of SCHEV; Dr. Michael Rao, President of Virginia Commonwealth University; Secretary of Education Laura Fornash; and Martin Briley, President and CEO of VEDP; participate in the MOU signing ceremony.

Last Thursday, RTI International Metals Inc. (RTI) hosted an event celebrating its inaugural production of certified commercial aerospace titanium for Airbus.

The $135 million forging, grinding and hot rolling manufacturing facility was first announced in 2008. The plant is located at the Patriot Centre, an industrial park jointly developed by Henry County and the City of Martinsville.

While 25 jobs have been created to date, that number is expected to increase as the plant ramps up production. At full capacity the facility can produce 14 million pounds of product annually.

The inaugural production follows 10 months of certification testing to meet the high quality standards of Airbus. The titanium will be used in Airbus’ passenger jets, including the company’s A350 XWB aircraft. As RTI completes additional qualifications, it expects its titanium to be used in an extended number of Airbus programs.

According to RTI Vice Chairman, CEO and President Dawn Hickton, “RTI is the largest North American titanium supplier to Airbus and its parent company, EADS, and this new facility adds an additional link in RTI’s ability to meet their needs across the entire supply chain.”

This project exemplifies the strength of Virginia’s advanced manufacturing capabilities across the Commonwealth. The aerospace industry is taking note as well: Business Facilities magazine ranked Virginia No. 7 as an Aerospace/Defense Industry Leader in its 2012 State Rankings Report.

More than 230 aerospace companies are located in Virginia and the Commonwealth has received more than $1.5 billion in capital investment for aerospace projects over the last ten years. To learn more, click here.

Governor McDonnell addresses company and local officials at the RTI International Metals event in Martinsville, Va.

Last week, RockTenn hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of a pipeline supplying natural gas to its mill in West Point, Va.

RockTenn and Virginia Natural Gas collaborated with Dominion Virginia Power, New Kent County, King William County and the Town of West Point to ensure the project was a success.

The 11-mile pipeline will run along Dominion Virginia Power’s right-of-way and connect Virginia Natural Gas' line in New Kent County to the West Point Mill.

RockTenn is also investing in its West Point Mill to make the facility more efficient and reduce emissions, lessening the mill’s carbon footprint.

The West Point Mill produces containerboard used in the company’s consumer packaging products. In operation since 1914, the mill is the region’s largest employer with a workforce of 550. RockTenn operates facilities across the Commonwealth, including a mill in Hopewell and a converting plant in Henrico County, Va.

The natural gas pipeline represents a significant improvement in infrastructure, positioning the region for additional growth.

Virginia is home to more than 6,000 manufacturing establishments. To find out why manufacturers have invested more than $13.8 billion in the Commonwealth over the last decade, click here.

Carrie Roth (center), Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade, is joined by company, local and regional officials at the RockTenn West Point Mill ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Coming shortly after Governor McDonnell’s Conference on Energy in Richmond, Va., the Commonwealth continues to lay claim to the title “Energy Capital of the East Coast.”

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling spoke at the opening ceremony and VEDP Managing Director Jerry Giles was one of the panelists for the Virginia Spotlight session. Representatives from the Port of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy, and the Virginia Department of Commerce and Trade spoke at events throughout the conference.

In addition, VEDP shared a trade show booth with Poseidon Atlantic in close proximity to Fugro and the Virginia Offshore Wind Coalition. Other Virginia-based companies in attendance included Apex Wind Energy, Bechtel Corp., and Maersk Line Limited.

VEDP and its partners continue to promote Virginia as the natural choice for the offshore wind industry. With its strong Class 6 winds, Virginia offers companies a central mid-Atlantic location, a high voltage transmission grid close to shore, and a premier maritime workforce with the largest industrial military complex in the U.S.

While the industry awaits news on the U.S. Bureau of Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) competitive auction process from its call for nominations last February, Virginia companies continue to make progress both on and offshore.

Poseidon Atlantic has installed its Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) monitoring position in Northampton County, Va., as part of its wind measurement campaign. The results show wind conditions are better than expected. The company has also commenced its phase two study investigating offshore testing sites.

Wind energy remains an important component of Virginia’s all-of-the-above approach to the energy crisis. Home to more than 380 energy companies, the Commonwealth has seen more than $4.6 billion invested in energy projects over the last ten years. To learn more, click here.

Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade Carrie Roth speaks about Virginia’s wind resources to a group of wind energy leaders at a dinner hosted by VEDP.

Chromalloy, one of seven Organizing Members of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), announced its sponsorship of an industrial casting seminar for Virginia State University students. Chromalloy is a leading supplier of repairs, replacements parts and maintenance for gas turbines used in the aviation industry.

This program is one of the first educational initiatives launched through CCAM, an applied research center that partners top Virginia universities with leading Virginia manufacturers.

The three-day seminar is designed to educate engineering students on the latest techniques used in the casting manufacturing process. VSU students will learn a variety of processes, including wax injection and the assembly of molds, investment, pouring, and final part finishing, as well as proprietary processes developed by Chromalloy.

Located on Rolls-Royce’s Crosspointe Campus in Prince George County, Va., CCAM represents a public-private collaboration offering faster commercialization of technologies for Virginia companies and enhanced educational opportunities for Virginia’s students. Research partners include Virginia State University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, and manufacturing partners include Canon Virginia Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, Siemens, and Sulzer Metco.

CCAM is one example of Virginia’s commitment to innovation. Home to 11 Federally Funded R&D Centers and 19 Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Laboratories, including DARPA and NASA Langley Research Center, click here to learn why companies continue to select the Commonwealth as a leader in technology.

AREVA, a leader in nuclear and sustainable energy, celebrated the ribbon cutting of the new AREVA U.S. Technical Center this September. The center, located in Campbell County, Va., opens just seven months after the company broke ground on the project which brings a $7 million capital investment.

The U.S. Technical Center will add to AREVA’s existing Solutions Complex, the largest collection of nuclear testing and service offerings in the U.S. The state-of-the-art U.S. Technical Center offers full-service nuclear safety testing, including a seismic analysis laboratory, environmental chambers, metallurgic and chemical labs, and industrial ovens.

AREVA provides customized solutions for efficient low-carbon power generation, which allow electric utilities to adapt quickly to new and changing regulations.

Home to a highly skilled and well educated workforce, Virginia has the personnel needed to fuel AREVA’s continued growth. In fact, Virginia companies employ the one of the highest concentration of doctoral scientist and engineers in the country.

Virginia’s ideal combination of abundant natural resources, excellent location for global access, and strong workforce draw energy leaders like AREVA and helps establish the Commonwealth as the Energy Capital of the East Coast.

To learn more about Virginia’s top workforce and leading role as Energy Capital of the East Coast click here.

This week, McKesson Corp. announced its third distribution center in the Commonwealth. The Frederick County project is expected to bring a $36.9 million investment and 205 new jobs to the region.

Ranked No. 14 on the Fortune 500, McKesson is the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in North America, delivering one-third of the medicines used each day.

The company plans to establish a 450,000-square-foot, build-to-suit distribution center in Frederick County for its Medical-Surgical business unit. Henrico County is already home to McKesson’s Medical-Surgical divisional headquarters as well as a distribution center.

This announcement is a strong follow-up to a project completed earlier this year. In April, McKesson celebrated the grand opening of its state-of-the-art distribution center in Caroline County.

McKesson continues to choose Virginia for its strategic location and proximity to customers along the East Coast. With six major highways and the third largest state-maintained transportation network in the country, Virginia allows companies to improve their supply chain efficiency.

Over the last 10 years, global logistics companies have announced more than 360 projects in Virginia, totaling more than $1.6 billion in capital investment. To learn more about Virginia’s world-class logistics infrastructure, click here.

Fulcrum Concepts recently hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for its new headquarters location at the Middle Peninsula Regional Airport in King and Queen County, Va. Initially announced in January 2012, the project is expected to bring a $4.6 million investment and 31 new jobs to the region.

Founded in Virginia by three veterans in 2008, Fulcrum Concepts provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) training to integrate air, ground and intelligence assets. The company’s military and civilian customers include the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and various law enforcement groups.

The location at Middle Peninsula Regional Airport was selected as it offered the right balance of security with access to military-trained personnel from the Hampton Roads region. Each year, about 18,000 people exit Virginia military bases and enter the civilian workforce, providing a steady pipeline of skilled workers.

In addition, Virginia’s position as a technology leader is well established—the Commonwealth provides companies with the highest concentration of high-tech workers, according to Cyberstates 2011.

Speaking about the benefits of Middle Peninsula Regional Airport, Managing Member of Fulcrum Concepts Michael Zinanni stated, “The airport has come under outstanding professional management, enhanced airport service and navigational aid improvement, and significant infrastructure improvements to include a runway and taxiway resurface able to accommodate a wide variety of aircraft. The vision for growth is in line with our desire to bring top quality professional service to our customers and community.”

Virginia continues to attract aerospace companies, bringing more than $1.5 billion in investment to the Commonwealth over the last 10 years. To learn why more than 230 aerospace companies call Virginia home, click here.

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (center) is joined by company and local officials at the Fulcrum Concepts ground-breaking ceremony in King and Queen County, Va.

This public-private partnership indicates Virginia is at the forefront of the latest developments in aerospace—the growth of the commercial space sector. Virginia’s space industry is substantial, currently delivering $7.6 billion in economic output and supporting 28,110 jobs, according to a recent press release from Governor McDonnell.

Over the next few years, Orbital plans to utilize the MARS launch pad for eight cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station as part of its Antares rocket program. Orbital will also use the facility for test and demonstration flights.

Located at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, MARS currently operates two launch pads, one for liquid fuel vehicles and one for solid fuel vehicles. Its full service capabilities and designation as both an Enterprise Zone and Foreign Trade Zone provides commercial, government, scientific and academic customers with low-cost access to space.

MARS is one of only four commercial sites authorized by the FAA for orbital space launches. In addition, MARS offers a low-risk trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean and optimal access to the orbit of the International Space Station.

To learn more about MARS and other facilities that make up Virginia’s burgeoning aerospace industry, click here.

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About VEDP

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), a state authority created by the Virginia General Assembly to better serve those seeking a prime business location and increased trade opportunities, provides confidential site selection and international trade services. VEDP's mission: To enhance the quality of life and raise the standard of living for all Virginians, in collaboration with Virginia communities, through aggressive business recruitment, expansion assistance, and trade development, thereby expanding the tax base and creating higher-income employment opportunities.